Doug Bjelland

Doug is a Quantitative Genetics consultant and works with clients to help solve a wide range of genetic questions. This could be anything from building a genetic selection index, helping direct an elite or commercial breeding program, modelling specific investment or genetic scenarios, developing strategies around crossbreeding and inbreeding avoidance, or development of software, data …

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Thiago Oliveira

Thiago is a highly skilled and accomplished statistician with over eight years of experience in experimental statistics and statistical modelling. He holds a PhD in Statistics from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and during his PhD studies, he gained expertise in statistical modelling in agricultural data while working as a visiting scholar at the …

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Ee Cheng

As a veterinarian with a genetics PhD, Ee Cheng works across a wide variety of animal projects. A typical day for her might include building genetic evaluations for health and fertility traits, modelling changes to farm systems, or working with clients to help them get value out of their data. One of her favourite projects …

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Mason Chizk

Driven by a passion to do more with less, Mason enjoys breaking down resource bottlenecks in breeding programs through pipeline development. His software-driven approach draws from applied field experience in plant breeding programs ranging from inbred seed crops to clonally propagated perennials. As a proponent of the ‘art of plant breeding’, Mason seeks to complement …

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Caeli Richardson

Caeli discovered her passion for agriculture while working on a dairy farm in Canada. She broadened her practical experience on a local swine and cash crop operation before gaining a global perspective of on-farm challenges. Incorporating practical experience into her theoretical training allows Caeli to create innovative solutions to multifaceted problems.  She brings tremendous passion and positive …

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Simone Savoia

Simone is part of AbacusBio’s UK team of consultants, with a background in animal breeding and quantitative genetics. Simone brings to AbacusBio his experience in genetic and genomic evaluations of cattle, as well as his enthusiasm for delivering efficient selection tools to a worldwide network of customers.  Within AbacusBio Simone works mainly on the revision, …

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David Kenny

David is an Animal Breeder Consultant who focuses on a variety of aspects associated with genetic improvement in livestock production. This primarily involves modelling the effects and implications of animal breeding programs. Moreover, David possesses an in-depth knowledge of genetic and genomic analyses, including variance component and breeding value estimation. David takes pride in contributing …

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Anouk Schurink

Anouk Schurink joined AbacusBio with her applied mindset and strong experience in horse breeding, quantitative genetics, genomic analyses, and genetic diversity. Born and raised on the countryside in the east of the Netherlands, Anouk got intrigued by Mendel’s Law in high school when attempting an assignment about the inheritance of flower colours. After obtaining a …

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Tom Kirk

Tom’s background in finance, economics, and statistics provide a unique perspective on which clients can tap to understand insights about the trade-offs and economic issues facing the agricultural and food systems industries. Tom joined AbacusBio in 2014, firstly as an intern and then later as a consultant based in Edinburgh. His commerce background and ability …

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Leticia Lara

Letícia joined us in our Edinburgh office as a consultant, bringing with her a highly specialised skillset in genetics and plant breeding. Originally from Brazil, Letícia gained a Bachelor and a Master’s degree from the Federal University of Lavras. She moved on to complete a PhD at the University of São Paulo. Her PhD looked at …

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Kathryn Grant

Kathryn Grant joined us in 2020 – based at our Edinburgh office. Originally from Oxford in the UK, she brings to us her strong experience in cereal crop genetics. Whilst a biology major during her undergraduate years at the University of Oxford, she became interested in food security after attending a few lectures throughout her …

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Chris Adams

Chris joined AbacusBio in July 2021 with his strong experience in plant biochemistry and statistics. He possess a wide range of skills from bioinformatics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to greenhouse and growth room work. Originally from Wirral in the UK, Chris takes pride in his approachable nature and natural ability to communicate complex scientific …

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John Crowley

John Crowley is the managing director of AbacusBio Canada, a subsidiary office established in 2023 in Alberta. He has a PhD in statistical genetics and over 15 years of experience in breeding and genetics, agri-business and data analytics initiatives.  John is passionate about delivering innovative and practical solutions that enhance the genetic potential, profitability, and …

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Mike Carson

Mike has over 40 years of experience in tree breeding and related forest tree and plant research, initially as a scientist and then R&D manager at the NZ Forest Research Institute, and subsequently as owner and manager in a clonal forestry business (Forest Genetics), and a provider of breeding software (Gemnetics). Mike has completed reviews …

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Ireti Balogun

Ireti is an applied plant and animal breeding consultant, supporting breeding program design and implementation. Her work on breeding program development includes quantifying plant and animal traits in economic terms and prioritizing traits to improve.  Ireti is proud of her work applying new and advanced tools to assess cassava trait improvement preferences of farmers. In …

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Luna Zhang

Luna specialises in building mathematically-driven models, conducting analysis and producing visual reports for delivering insights for breeding, whether it is livestock or plant. Luna is passionate in transferring data into business insights. She has a fierce passion for communicating data to different audience groups using personalised visuals and storytelling techniques. Originally from China and having …

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Katarzyna Stachowicz

Born and raised in Poland, Kat joined AbacusBio in 2013 and is an expert on animal breeding and genetics with special interest in genetic variability and the long term consequences of selection. Her experience in the genetic evaluation of sheep and cattle, variance components estimation, economic selection indexes and the identification of key ancestors for …

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Cheryl Quinton

Cheryl specialises in breeding programs around the world. She enjoys teamwork and thrives in a collaborative environment, engaging closely with colleagues and clients to develop solutions and tools in quantitative genetics, breeding programs, and selection indexes for a wide range of species. Her work includes sheep, beef, dairy, fish, poultry, and crops species.  Cheryl joined …

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Luke Proctor

Luke specialises in the implementation of on-farm research projects. His past experience on a variety of science and research projects has given him a broad understanding of scientific processes and how they relate to the agricultural industry. His role at AbacusBio includes working with sheep and cattle breeders on the application of DNA tests and …

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Madeleine Post (1)

Madeleine joined us in May 2021, to extend our growing expertise in plant biotechnology. She recently finished a Master’s degree, looking at the biochemical and physiological effects of microplastic and phenanthrene toxicity (using marine macroalgae as a model). Originally from Hamburg, Madeleine spent a large portion of her childhood both in Europe and the Bay of …

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Nadia Mclean

Nadia joined AbacusBio in 2013 and specialises in the implementation of on-farm research projects, such as the Hill Central Progeny Test. Nadia’s focus is on lifting productivity behind the farm gate. Her background includes working with sheep breeders on the research and development of DNA tests and SNP technology and the logistical implementation of meat …

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Loame Kok

Loame first came to AbacusBio as an intern, while pursuing a genetics degree at the University of Otago. She is highly driven and brings her creative, pragmatic mindset towards her work at AbacusBio. At AbacusBio, she is involved in several projects looking at the development of practical packages to support the development of new plant products, …

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Nathalie Howes

The opportunities presented to Natalie while growing up on-farm in the sheep, beef, and dairy industries, is what motivates Natalie to deliver impact to the agricultural sector. With an affable personality and grassroots core, Natalie works closely with clients to strategically apply scientific principles that deliver commercially relevant solutions. While based in AbacusBio’s Dunedin office, …

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Sam Harburg

Sam is an experienced agribusiness consultant with strong expertise in economic modelling and investment analysis, strategic planning, and genetic improvement. He supports clients with commercialisation strategies, market assessments, impact assessments, investment/feasibility analysis, supply chain assessments and practical breeding and genetics support. Sam has extensive experience in the Australian beef industry, previously working as a general …

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Bruno Santos

Bruno focuses on promoting and disseminating breeding strategies to increase efficiency and sustainability in livestock and plant production. Bruno has a global understanding of the agricultural sector, combined with his expertise in development of breeding objectives, and practical application of genetic improvement principles. His approach is to deliver expertise with passion, customer centric focus and …

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Neville Jopson

Neville joined AbacusBio in 2001, coming from an extensive practical and applied science background in New Zealand and European agricultural science and agribusiness. He has developed a variety of technological innovations in the areas of imaging technology, measurement of carcasses and meat cuts in live animals using CT and ultrasound scanning, as well as genetic …

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Fiona Hely

Fiona is a logical thinker and a great problem solver. You will find that she has a good listening ear and is able to successfully help you piece the puzzles together to resolve challenges and meet your data needs. Fiona specialises in the design and simulation of breeding programs and optimisation, bringing to clients her …

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Tim Byrne

Tim has over 15 years of experience as an applied scientist and a consultant. His work mantra is simple: good scientists need to deliver impact, not just solutions. A broad thinker and an in-depth leader, Tim can help you identify investment and technology opportunities and successfully integrate them into businesses to thrive. He currently heads …

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Jude Sise

Jude is an accomplished problem-solver with ideas and she has the tenacity to bring them to life. Her analytical mind, excellent attention to detail, and commercial acumen make her an outstanding consultant at AbacusBio. Jude specialises in genetics, modelling, and software development. She is also skilled in  communicating complex information clearly, which streamlines and enhances …

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Peter Amer

Peter is a world-class scientist, renowned for his multi-faceted approach to designing and developing effective breeding programs. He has a talent for creating practical innovative solutions that apply to a range of complex issues, whether it be technical, commercial, or political. It is not surprising that his problem-solving capabilities are widely sought around the world. …

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